


Man's best friend

by liionne



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Dogs, M/M, and you get a dog, and you get a dog!, you get a dog
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-23
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2019-04-07 00:59:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14069442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liionne/pseuds/liionne
Summary: Dog Walker!Bucky and Dog Owner!Steve. Essentially an excuse for fluffy stucky and dogs, but who's complaining?





	Man's best friend

Steve likes the dog park. He likes to sit and watch the dogs scampering around and playing, and he likes to draw them if he remembers to bring his sketch pad and pencils along with him.

Liberty also likes the dog park. She likes to play with the other dogs, roll around in the grass and stretch her legs, freedoms which Steve’s 4th story apartment just don’t afford her, even if it’s a pretty spacious apartment relatively lacking in furniture.

It’s nice for both of them to get out. Steve loves his job, but getting to work from home, in the office-cum-studio that was once a spare bedroom and his motivation to finish a job once he’s started means that sometimes he forgets to see the sun. It had been becoming a problem when Sam had told him he was going down to the shelter because Riley had finally persuaded him to get a damn dog, did he want to come? Sam had ended up with a golden retriever with an eerie similarity to his boyfriend, and Steve had ended up with Liberty, the tiny Shiba Inu who had all but leapt into his arms when Steve had asked to see her.

She was impossible to tire out. Steve took her on his morning runs, and then they went out for a walk in the early evening, right when the sun was setting. At lunch time, they went to the dog park. It was nice. Nice to get out, nice to have a routine.

And Steve was making friends, too. Most of the time he would just sit on his own and sketch, but sometimes he talked - dog owners tended to get along well, apparently. There was Clint, with the Labrador, and Natasha, with the Irish Setter. Bruce and his Corgi, Wanda and her Australian Shepherd. It tended to be the case that when Liberty made a friend, Steve made a friend. He didn’t really mind.

It’s Wednesday, and they’ve been at the park for a half an hour now. They usually stay for about an hour, sometimes longer if Liberty’s having a good time. Steve keeps an eye on her as he sketches a pug that’s been sitting in the shade of a bush for a while now. His attention is focused on the shading of its ears when he hears Liberty bark, and he looks up, momentarily worried until he finds out why she’s so excited: there’s about seven new dogs trotting into the park, each attached to a different coloured leash, which is in turn attached to a man. A very _attractive_ man.

Steve watches as he unclips all seven leashes and gives them a stern word of warning, straightening up to watch them all scamper away. Liberty immediately begins acquainting herself with a squat looking Beagle, and Steve takes a moment to look at the guy.

He’s never seen him here before, in the year or so that he’s been bringing Liberty. And yeah - he would know if he had. Dark hair scraped into messy looking bun, a jawline carved from stone - Steve could draw him for hours. But he looks a little unsure of what to do with himself once the dogs had dispersed, and Steve almost breaks his neck trying to look away before the guy caught him, coming to sit at the opposite end of his bench.

Steve resolutely tries to ignore him. He continues with his shading, but when he looks up, the pug has moved on, apparently also interested in the new dogs.

“Hey,” The guy says, his voice a little husky, and Steve looks up; if he hadn’t already, he’s definitely given himself whiplash now. “We don’t have to do anything, right?”

Steve pauses. The guy takes it as confusion, and elaborates, “I mean, they can just do their own thing, right? They can’t get out of here?”

“Oh, no, it’s safe - the gate’s really secure, and they make sure to keep an eye out for gaps in the fencing.” He nods. The guy seems to deflate a little.

“Sorry,” He says. “It’s my first day, I haven’t - I don’t even normally do dogs. I mean-- I’m a cat person. Dogs are… new territory.”

“Don’t say that too loud.” Steve says in a mock-whisper, a grin on his lips. “They’ll string you up by your toes.”

The guy laughs, running a hand over his forehead to push back a few stray hairs. He’s gorgeous, and Steve knows he’s staring, but he can’t _help_ it. He isn’t the only one, either - Sharon with the Miniature Schnauzer seems to be drooling.

“I’m Steve,” He says, deciding to introduce himself. He might as well - he certainly wants to. And Liberty seems to be getting along really well with Dalmatian the guy had brought along. A friend of Liberty’s was a friend of Steve’s.

“Bucky,” The other returns, giving Steve a small smile. He doesn’t look as nervous now, at least. “Uh - which one’s yours?”

“Liberty,” He answers, pointing to her as she rolls around in the grass. “The Shiba.”

Bucky seems a little surprised by that, and Steve gets it. Liberty is fairly small even for a Shiba, and Steve is relatively tall, even for a guy. He’s pushing 6’2, all broad shoulders and muscle, probably better suited to one of the Huskies or Newfoundlands running around. He had kind of always assumed that if he was getting a dog, it’d be a big one, but things hadn’t worked out that way.

“She was a rescue.” He adds, as if that explains it. “She chose me, I guess.”

Bucky nods, his eyes tracking the dogs he had brought with him. If Steve ever needed a walker, he’d trust Bucky to do it, he thinks. “So how come a cat person is out here walking all those dogs?”

“Keep your voice down!” Bucky hisses, but he breaks into laughter fairly quickly. Steve grins, eyes flicking back to Liberty as she plays. “I just got back from overseas.” He explains. Steve had noticed the Stark Tech prosthetic - Bucky wasn’t doing much to hide it, wearing a t-shirt that only really covered his shoulder - but he knew better than to ask. People lost their arm in all kinds of ways, each one equally as saddening and horrifying as the last. “I needed to stop moping round the house, and my sister suggested dog walking. She got given the Collie by an ex and didn’t want to give her up, and she said if I was walking other people’s dogs…”

“Might as well take a bunch and earn some money.” Steve nods. “It’s a good plan.”

“Yeah.” Bucky murmurs. “‘Cept I don’t know much about dogs.”

“You got water for them all?” Steve asks.

Bucky nods.

“Treats?”

Another nod.

“Poop bags?”

Again, a nod.

“Then I’d say you’re doing pretty well.” Steve smiles, and that seems to relax Bucky even further. “Sometimes I forget that kind of stuff, and we’ve been doing this a year now.”

Steve and Bucky talk, and it’s as if they’re old friends, how easy it is. They don’t talk about Bucky’s time abroad; they do talk about Steve’s art. They talk about living in New York, how it’s so different now even just compared to when they were kids. After half an hour Liberty comes trotting over, and though she’s making a beeline for Steve just diverts her attention, sniffing at Bucky’s knees instead.

“Can I?” He asks, and Steve nods.

“‘Course.” He says. “She’d only get moody if you didn’t.”

For someone who isn’t a dog person, Bucky seems to be pretty damn good with them; he scratches behind Liberty’s ears and coos at her as if she were his own dog, and Liberty seems just as taken by him as Steve is by the end of it.

“We’re probably going to head back now,” Steve says, clipping Liberty’s leash. “Do you want me to help round them up?”

“You don’t mind?” Bucky asks, rubbing the back of his neck.

Steve shakes his head. “It’s no trouble. You got the leashes?”

Steve leaves Liberty with Sharon for a moment, and helps Bucky round up the dogs; he manages three out of seven, and he has a feeling that Bucky would have been fine without him, but still. He wanted to help.

The dogs don’t appear to be too happy to be back on the leash, but there’s nothing Steve can do about that. He holds the gate open for Bucky, and walks to the park gate with him, chatting a little as they go.

“Will I see you tomorrow?” He asks.

Bucky, already tangled by the dogs milling around his feet, gives a nod. “Same time?” He asks in return.

“Same time.” Steve assures him. They go in opposite directions, Bucky turning left and Steve turning right. It’s not a date, but it kind of feels like one. He wishes it was a date. He tells Liberty as much, but if she even hears him, she doesn’t care, her tail wagging a little as they go.

~*~

 

Steve wakes up to Liberty licking his face.

“No, oh my god, no, bad girl--” He says, trying to push her away, but she knows she’s not in any trouble and they both know she’ll do it again tomorrow. Gross, maybe, but it _does_ work - he gets up to wash his face and brush his teeth, grumbling as he goes.

Steve loves his morning runs, but he does hate getting up. If he didn’t have Liberty there his morning runs would be midday runs, and he’d use the scorching New York sun as punishment for being such a lazy bastard. Luckily, he doesn’t have to. They’re out the door by 7, and back within the hour.

Steve showers, and gets some work done whilst Liberty naps. They have an easy kind of existence; Steve likes the company. He doesn’t know if Liberty does, but she seems to like napping in the corner of his studio, so he’ll take that as a yes.

At lunchtime they head back out, this time walking to the other side of the park to reach the dog park. Bucky’s already there, giving the dogs another stern talking-to before releasing them, and then watching as they scatter in all directions.

Steve lets Liberty off the leash; before she can be distracted by the other dogs, though, she heads straight for Bucky, her front paws on his knee as she tries to get his attention. The delighted little laugh that Bucky gives threatens to bowl Steve over, so he sits down as quickly as he can. No need to make a fool of himself.

“You beat me.” He says by way of greeting, and Bucky shrugs, focused on petting Liberty.

“We had an early start today.” He says, and Steve smiles softly.

Eventually Liberty gets fidgety, and goes running off to join her friends. Steve watches her go, about to settle into sketching, when Bucky clears his throat. “I saw you two this morning. You go running?”

“Yeah - you really did get an early start.” Steve says, and he grins, but Bucky doesn’t grin back. He gives a one-sided shrug, and a smile that seems a little tired.

“I didn’t sleep much last night.” He admits. “I’d been sitting at the window for an hour or so when I saw the two of you. She keeps good pace.”

“She puts me to shame.” Steve agrees. Probably best not to linger on the sleep thing, right? He barely knows Bucky. No, it’s not his place. “She would run faster, and for longer, I think. I hold her back.”

“How will she ever forgive you?” Bucky teases, and Steve gives a soft chuckle.

They don’t chat much today, but the silence doesn’t feel awkward. It feels… companionable. Steve is still grateful for the company as he sketches. Bucky watches him sometimes, but he doesn’t have any questions like most people do. After an hour, Steve helps him get the dogs back, and then he pulls out the piece of paper he had torn out of his sketchbook, his phone number written on in pencil.

“Here,” He says, handing it to Bucky, who looks a little surprised. “You know, if - if you can’t sleep, and you want someone to talk to. I keep weird hours anyway - workaholic. Or, y’know, if you ever need any help with the dogs. I’m probably better at that anyway.”

Bucky seems to want to refuse, and Steve wonders if he overstepped, but then Bucky is smiling and putting it in his pocket. “Thanks, Steve.”

~*~

Steve sees him again on Friday, but Bucky has the weekends off. They text near constantly, but Bucky doesn’t call him during the night. Steve doesn’t know if that means he’s sleeping or not, but he keeps his phone close to his pillow, just in case.

Two weeks after their first meeting, Steve and Liberty are back at the park, heading for the dog park, when Steve says Bucky standing in the middle of the field, looking like he wants the ground to swallow him up. Liberty glances up at him, and Steve gives her a nod, the two of them changing direction and heading now for Bucky.

“Bucky? Hey!” Steve calls when he’s in earshot. Bucky looks round at him, looking haggard, and Steve feels his heart clench.

“Fuck, Steve, I lost one. I _lost_ one, the fucking arm, I didn’t realise I didn’t have a good job on his leash.” Bucky babbles. “I can’t - I don’t know where he is, he just ran off--”

“You lost one of the dogs?” Steve clarifies. He glances down - six instead of seven. Uh oh. He looks back to Bucky. “It’s okay.” He says. When Bucky looks like he wants to cry, Steve steps a little closer. “Hey - it’s going to be okay. He probably hasn’t gone far. Tell you what - you take Liberty, start having a look around. I’ll take these guys to the dog park, I know someone who can look after them. I’ll keep my eye out, okay?”

Bucky nods, seemingly glad to have someone else to take charge. Steve hands over Liberty’s leash and takes the others from him in return. The other dogs seem to have very little interest in what’s going on, but once they’re moving they all pick up again, tails wagging when they see the dog park.

“Hey, Nat,” Steve says, ushering them all inside. “Can I ask you a really huge favour?”

“You’ll owe me one really huge favour in return.” She responds, arching one eyebrow. “But sure.”

“Can you look after these dogs for like - a half hour? Probably not even that.” Steve says, unclipping them one by one. “I won’t be long, and you don’t have to do anything--”

She seems to pick up on the fact that Steve is stressed. He hadn’t want to show it in front of Bucky but being away from him and Liberty and the lost dog was starting to get to him - Natasha was perceptive, anyway. If Steve so much as worried about the weather, she knew about it.

“Go. Tatiana and I will be here for another 45 minutes anyway.” She says, shooing him away like it’s nothing. Steve has never been more grateful.

“I owe you!” he throws over his shoulder, trying not to break into a run.

Bucky and Liberty are over by the bushes, Liberty’s tail wagging, most likely thinking that this is all a game.

“No luck?” Steve asks.

Bucky turns to him, looking very pale, and very frightened. Steve wants nothing more than to hug him, to assure him that it’ll be alright, but they aren’t there yet, and if they were… well, maybe it won’t be alright.

But Steve isn’t thinking about that. He’s thinking about the dog.

“It’s the Dalmatian, right?” Steve asks, and Bucky nods gravely. “What’s his name?”

“Harvey.” Bucky answers, his voice wobbling. Steve reaches out to take his hand, moving without even thinking, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“Okay. Let’s go - you keep with Liberty, alright?” Steve says.

“You trust me with her?” Bucky asks, sounding so defeated. Steve’s heart clenches, and he nods, shoulders squaring a little.

“I do.” He says. “I do trust you. But it’s alright - we’re going to stick together.

Bucky seems to like that idea. He sticks close to Steve’s side, Liberty trotting a little bit ahead. After fifteen minutes there’s still no luck, and Steve is starting to admit that the outlook is bleak. What if he ran off? What if he found the park gates? Or worse, what if someone picked him up and carried him off?

But then Liberty starts wagging her tail furiously, barking in that high-pitched, kind of squeaky way that she had when she was excited. “Bucky!” Steve cries, reaching for him and grabbing his hand; Harvey is sniffing around the bushes, but when he sees Liberty he comes padding over to them, apparently none the wiser to the stress he’d been causing.

“Oh my god, you stupid dog, oh my _god_ , you have no idea how happy I am to see you--” Bucky babbles, grabbing a tight hold of his leash and leaning down to pet him, scratching under his chin.

“Let’s go get the others - I think they can probably go home now.” Steve says, and Bucky nods, giving a deep sigh.

Steve thanks Natasha as he and Bucky round up all the dogs. “I didn’t do much.” She admits. “But you still owe me.”

“Of course.” Steve nods. “A big favour.”

She smiles, shooing him, and he goes to join Bucky outside of the park.

“I have to take them back, but - do you want to come back to my place? For a coffee? Just - I want to say thank you. I have some treats that Liberty might like, and--”

Steve interrupts Bucky’s rambling with a smile. “Sure.” He says. “I’d like that.”

~*~

Bucky’s apartment is… minimalistic, to say the least.

It’s nice. It’s free of clutter, and it looks kind of modern, which Steve can appreciate, even if he prefers the tatty old eclectic look of his apartment over the black-and-chrome thing.

“I didn’t decorate.” Bucky grimaces. “I kinda wish it didn’t look so Star Trek, but I don’t know anything about interior design, so.”

“It’s nice.” Steve says, with a shake of his head. “Do you mind if I let her off the leash?”

“Sure.” Bucky says. He hands Liberty two little bone-shaped biscuits once she’s been unclipped, and then he puts a bowl of water down for good measure. Liberty takes a little drink, and once she realises that there’s no hope of more treats, she goes off to explore the new terrain.

“You haven’t lived here long, then?” Steve asks, and Bucky shakes his head.

“No, uh - I was in DC for a long time, after I got back. I was thinking about staying there, but New York is home, and it was easier for the prosthetic….” He trails off. Steve knows better than to push, so he just nods, and takes a sip of the coffee that Bucky offers him. “I like it, anyway. I’d forgotten how much I missed New York. I still haven’t seen much of it yet, but - you know.”

He’d said that he’d started dog walking to get out of the house; Steve remembers. He can’t imagine that staying inside this apartment was good for anyone, and he still wasn’t sure he knew Bucky all that well, but--

“Y’know if you want, I don’t mind playing tour guide. I know you’ve seen it all before, but… sometimes it’s good to be a tourist in your own city.” Steve realises he’s rambling, but he can’t stop. “And the park is great, but there are other great places too--”

“If you’re sure you don’t mind.” Bucky says, giving Steve a small, sweet smile. It feels like a victory. They’re both silent for a moment, and then Bucky sighs, his smile slowly fading. “I’m going to have to call all the owners and tell them to find someone else.”

“What?” Steve frowns. “Why?”

Bucky looks at him like he’s stupid. “Because I lost one. I lost one of their _dogs_ , that’s not--”

“You didn’t lose him, he ran off, and you got him back safe and sound. Do you know how many times she’s ran off?” Steve jerks a thumb at the Shiba who’s now sniffing around Bucky’s couch. “One time I thought I really had lost her, I couldn’t find her for an hour - turned out she’d just gone to stand by the ice cream truck and beg for free ice cream.”

Bucky laughs, but then he looks down, rubbing the back of his neck again. “It’s not a big deal?”

“It’s not _not_ a big deal, but - dogs are living things, they go where they want, they do what they want-- every so often they’re gonna get away from you.” Steve shrugs. “Don’t beat yourself up about it, Buck. You’re really good with them.”

Bucky gives a small smile, like he doesn’t quite believe it. Steve wants to hold his hand again, wants to _make_ him believe it, but he has a feeling that’s easier said than done.

“Thanks, Steve.” He says softly. He doesn’t linger on the subject, though. Instead, he says, “Can we go to Coney Island? I haven’t been there since I was a kid.”

“Sure.” Steve chuckles. “But we’re not riding the Cyclone - I throw up every time.”

~*~

Bucky flutters his eyelashes at Steve until they go on the Cyclone. He throws up into a trash can at the end, but it’s worth it to see the way Bucky looks when he laughs, head thrown back, carefree.

~*~

“You have another dog!”

Bucky has arrived at the dog park with eight dogs instead of seven - the little jack russel terrier looks like he has a lot to prove, but Liberty still wants to be his friend once the leashes come off - after she’s had her pets from Bucky, of course.

“Yeah, well - I figured the other seven were getting used to me, so…”

Two months ago, Bucky had been close to quitting entirely. Now he’s got another dog, and he doesn’t even seem to be worried about it.

Steve is just as gone on him as he was the first day he saw him - if anything, he likes him even more now, because now he knows him. He knows what he finds funny, what gets him to frown with that little line between his brows, what makes him blush. He knows him, and he’s crushing on him bad, but he can’t bring himself to do anything about it.

Bucky plonks down next to him on the bench, fiddling with his fingertips for a moment before he looks at Steve, his grey eyes earnest. Over the past two months they’ve been to Coney Island, Times Square, the Brooklyn Bridge and the High Line. They’ve seen any skyscraper that’s worth seeing, and seen each other almost every day - and yet, Steve will never get used to those eyes, looking right into his soul.

“Steve, I was wondering… do you wanna go out some time?” Bucky asks, and for a moment Steve isn’t sure what he means.

“We go out all the time.” He says. Bucky looks at him like he’s an idiot - something Steve _is_ used to, funnily enough - but he smiles softly.

“I meant like… a date.”

“Oh.”

 _Oh_.

“I - yeah.” Steve says, nodding a little dumbly. “I would - yeah. I’d love that.”

“Great.” Bucky says, and he beams at Steve, that smile that always makes his insides melt. “There’s a dessert place round the corner from my apartment - we could go this saturday? If you want?”

Steve nods. “Yeah, Buck. It’s a date.”

~*~

“How do I look?”

Liberty tilts her head at him, and then trots away, curling up on her bed in the corner of the room.

“You’re useless.” Steve accuses, but he kisses the top of her head before he leaves anyway.

~*~

Steve meets Bucky outside, and kisses his cheek when he sees him. He’s wanted to do it for so long, and he’s glad when Bucky blushes, ducking his head to hide his smile. They each order their desserts, only to end up splitting them anyway, and despite Liberty's apathy he must look pretty good - Bucky kisses him on the doorstep before ducking inside with a promise to see him on Monday. It’s the best date Steve’s been on in a long time.

~*~

Liberty had to wait in the car. She wasn’t very happy about it, but Steve left her with her blanket and the window open, and Bucky gave her a treat before they left, too.

They hold hands as they walk around the cat shelter, and Bucky looks at each one with wide eyes, cooing at them through the bars. Steve hangs back; so sure, it’s _their_ cat, who’ll live in _their_ apartment, but… well. Bucky’s the cat guy, or so he says. It should be his choice.

“Oh, _Steve_ ,” He breathes, stopped in front of one of the cages. “Steve, it’s this one. Look at her.”

 _Her_ is a black cat, seemingly without a name, and without her right back leg. She looks at Steve and Bucky with wide yellow eyes, and then inches towards the bars. Bucky coos encouragement at her and moves aside to let the shelter lady open the door, so they can get to know her a little better.

“Is she good with dogs?” Steve asks. Bucky is too busy petting her, tickling behind her ears and stroking over her back.

“Dogs _and_ babies.” The shelter employee nods. Steve smiles softly. “How soon can we take her home?”

~*~

Bucky gives the dogs a stern talking to, and then lets them go and play. Liberty runs after them, yapping away. When Bucky sits down on the bench beside him, Steve reaches out to take his hand, kissing his cheek gently for good measure.

“We could get a fish.” Bucky says.

Steve wrinkles his nose. “Brooklyn would get it. For a cat that’s down a leg, she’s pretty nippy.”

Bucky hums. “True.” He says. “We could get a baby.”

“Marry me first?” Steve asks.

Bucky grins at him, knocking his shoulder lightly into Steve’s. “I’ll think about it.”

**Author's Note:**

> I had something big and elaborate planned out for this when I started, but I ended up not liking it. It still took me a good few hours, so I decided to post it anyway, but if anyone wants me to expand on this in the future or fill in the gaps a little, let me know! As always, I'm open to constructive criticism, comments, questions and requests. Thanks for reading!


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